Isaiah 26: 3

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"You will keep in perfect peace
 those whose minds are steadfast,
 because they trust in You."
Isaiah 26:3

Thank you dear friend for sharing this verse with me! I hope all ya'll are having a blessed Lord's day!

Sometimes Celiac Disease Isn't Fun!

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Sometimes Celiac Disease isn't fun! I'm not wanting to use this blog to complain, at the same time I'm going to be honest. Life with Celiac isn't complete food drudgery. There is some really good gluten free food! Sometimes it's still hard to stick to the diet. The worst thing for me though is still sometimes having tummy issues even though I stick to the diet pretty well (*sighs* I did have one measly Teddy Graham last night, but usually that minute amount doesn't bother me). Right now I'm laying on the couch because I just don't feel good. I was able to go to camp and not have "issues" at all! But ever since I got home my system has just felt out of whack. Is that crazy or what?!

I was afraid that I'd accidentally eat something I shouldn't while at camp and get sick. Well, I did eat two hamburger patties that had wheat in them. Am I the only one that finds it strange that a hamburger patty would have wheat in it? But thankfully I didn't get sick :-) Everyone in the kitchen were so kind about making sure I had food to eat! Moma sent a lot of food for me to take and there were one or two meals that I could eat that the camp staff had prepared. I really don't like having to ask people to go out of their way, especially when they're busy, like working in a camp kitchen feeding over 200 people, to prepare food for me. I'm perfectly content preparing the food for myself because I know that I'm "picky." :-) At the same time, I feel so loved when someone goes out of their way to make sure I have gluten free food to eat!

Living with Celiac Disease has gotten easier over the years. Moma was diagnosed in 1996 and I was diagnosed six months to a year later. 15 years ago you couldn't just go to WalMart or Winn Dixie and find gluten free food. If you wanted gluten free packaged food you had to go to a health food store, and a lot of it wasn't good! We've tried our share of really bad gluten free food! Now, you can go to pretty much any grocery store and find a decent selection of gluten free items. Our WalMart has a small gluten free section in the baking aisle.

Awareness has really gone up! More and more people who have had health issues their whole life are now finding that the underlying cause was Celiac Disease. It runs in the family, so if you have a family member with Celiac, please get tested! My doctor didn't want to test me because he didn't think that it would be likely for more than one person in an immediate family to have Celiac. I'm thankful Moma insisted because I have it. Last year my brother was diagnosed. If your doctor doesn't want you to get tested, insist on it! If they still don't want to test you, change doctors!

Sometimes it's really hard when people just don't understand that Celiac Disease is an auto-immune disorder, that even though you stick to your diet, you still get sick easier and stay sick longer than a lot of people. It's been hard for me anyway. I've had friends judge me and tell me that I could get healthier if I wanted to, I just had to have the right mind set. If you're dealing with people like that, don't let them get you down! They might mean well, but they are speaking out of ignorance. Not everyone is going to understand what it's like. That's just part of life. We just have to take their comments and move on.

I know this post hasn't really had much direction. It's just been a bunch of random thoughts, but I hope that it has been encouraging to ya'll who have Celiac or know someone who has Celiac. In the future I do plan on doing posts on Celiac Disease with a bit more direction :-)

Here's some more information on Celiac Disease:

National Foundation For Celiac Awareness

Celiac Disease Foundation

Symptoms of Celiac Disease

The Best Book I've Read About Celiac Disease! Celiac Disease: A Hidden Epidemic

Please Excuse Me While I Cry On Your Shoulder...

While writing yesterday's post I started thinking about my brother. I don't know why, but I just did. I was thinking about how excited I was that he will be graduating from highschool on June 5th and how I wanted to post video of his graduation on the blog for friends and family that wouldn't be able to come and for readers who have never been to a homeschool graduation. And how excited I was that he'll be going to East Tennessee School of Preaching in a little over two months. And then it hit me...

He'll be leaving in a little over two months.

Cue the tears. Yeah, I'm an emotional person. I laugh easily, and in this case I cry easily.

Seriously, I am so excited that he's going! I've encouraged him to be a preacher for a few years, but he just wasn't interested. And lo and behold, he announced to us after attending Polishing the Pulpit that he wanted to attend East Tennessee. He's starting a new chapter in his life. He's growing up! I'm so excited! He's spreading his wings and leaving the nest and I couldn't be more proud!

But still, for me, this is bittersweet. We'll still be able to visit and hopefully visit often. I know that when we visit we'll still be able to blare our favorite music while riding in the "granny" car. I know that when we visit, I'll still get to listen to the songs he's written, and hear him sing in his amazing bass voice. I know that when we visit, he and I will be able to pile in my bed and watch movies on my laptop. I know that when we visit, we'll be able to have fun and hang out with our friends in the garage till way past midnight. I know that when we visit, we'll be able to argue about who is the better barista. I know that when we visit, we'll be able to eat chocolate chip cookies and cookie dough till we make ourselves sick. I know that when we visit, he'll lead the song that I request on singing nights at church. I know that when we visit, I'll be able to give him a detailed summary about the latest Karen Kingsbury book I'm reading. I know that when we visit, I'll be able to get a guy's perspective on whether or not the clothes I'm wearing are modest. I know that whe we visit, we'll be able to remember all the fun times we had growing up.

But still, it will be when we visit. It just won't be the same. He won't be right down the hall.

I'm the kind of person that likes to enjoy the season of life I'm in to the fullest, so that I may fully enjoy the next season when the time comes. But still, change can be bittersweet. Just because I might cry and seem sad doesn't mean I don't look forward to the future. Normally, if I can have a good cry or two or three or ten, I'm able to fully embrace what is coming around the bend. So, please excuse me while I cry on your shoulder and blow my nose into a tissue. I promise I'm fine.

Things are about to change around here, and I can't wait to see what God has in store.

"It Gets Better" But Does It Really?

Tonight, my family and I were watching "The Biggest Loser" together on NBC. We were all kinda doing our own thing while watching it. I was playing with my puppy, Rodge was on his laptop, my mom and dad had gone to tuck Grayson and Gavin into bed, and this commercial came on...

I was astounded. I know that NBC is friendly to the pro-homosexual agenda, but I have NEVER seen it so blatantly displayed on a commercial. On a television show, it's a little different. You're choosing to watch that show, know the contents. It doesn't make it any more "right." I'm not saying that at all. But a commercial? The show we were watching is generally a good show (in seasons in the past we have had to flip the channel, but I don't remember having that problem this season) and wasn't pushing that "agenda."

Should we treat homosexual people badly? No! Honestly, Christians should be treating them kindly, because we are Christians! What kind of picture of Christ would we be presenting if we acted harshly towards homosexual people? Am I saying that we should condone their lifestyle? No! But think about it for a second. When a parent disciplines a child, is that parent being loving or hateful? The parent is being loving! Even though it might not seem loving on the "outside" the parent is doing the best thing for that child.

But what I think doesn't really matter. What really matters is what God says in the Bible...

Romans 1:18-31

¹⁸ The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of people, who suppress the truth by their wickedness, ¹⁹ since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. ²⁰ For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse.
 ²¹ For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. ²² Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools ²³ and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like a mortal human being and birds and animals and reptiles.
 ²⁴ Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another. ²⁵ They exchanged the truth about God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator—who is forever praised. Amen.
 ²⁶ Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural sexual relations for unnatural ones. ²⁷ In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed shameful acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their error.
 ²⁸ Furthermore, just as they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, so God gave them over to a depraved mind, so that they do what ought not to be done. ²⁹ They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice. They are gossips, ³⁰ slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant and boastful; they invent ways of doing evil; they disobey their parents; ³¹ they have no understanding, no fidelity, no love, no mercy. ³² Although they know God’s righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death, they not only continue to do these very things but also approve of those who practice them.

I Corinthians 6: 9-11

9 Or do you not know that wrongdoers will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor men who have sex with men^{[a] 10} nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. ¹¹ And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.

John 8:1-11

¹ but Jesus went to the Mount of Olives.    ² At dawn he appeared again in the temple courts, where all the people gathered around him, and he sat down to teach them. ³ The teachers of the law and the Pharisees brought in a woman caught in adultery. They made her stand before the group ⁴ and said to Jesus, “Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery. ⁵ In the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?” ⁶ They were using this question as a trap, in order to have a basis for accusing him.
   But Jesus bent down and started to write on the ground with his finger. ⁷ When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, “Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.” ⁸ Again he stooped down and wrote on the ground.
   ⁹ At this, those who heard began to go away one at a time, the older ones first, until only Jesus was  left, with the woman still standing there. ¹⁰ Jesus straightened up and asked her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?”
   ¹¹ “No one, sir,” she said.
   “Then neither do I condemn you,” Jesus declared. “Go now and leave your life of sin.”

Notice the last verse of this passage. Read it again and think about it for a moment. First Jesus did the loving thing; He didn't condemn her. He didn't say, "Woman, you're not even fit to be called a woman! You're a filthy pig! They caught you in the act of your sin! You aren't fit to be in My presence! I am sinless and don't want to be tainted by you. Leave now!!!!" No! He was loving, and kind. Like a loving father would be to a child who has disobeyed. He hated the sin but loved the sinner.

I Peter 3:15

¹⁵ But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect,

It's obvious from these verses that God views sexual immorality as sin. It is also obvious that no one is without sin. Does that mean that we should let sin slide right in front of us, without saying anything to the friend who is sinning? No! That would be the most unloving thing that we could do! Because, if the sin isn't repented of, that person will not inherit the kingdom of God. It's that simple. And honestly, that's the most unloving thing that we could do for that person.

One more thing to think about. We are all sinners. Christ died for all of us. No sin is too big for Him to erase. We as Christians, need to examine ourselves. Is there an on going sin that we need to get rid of? If someone comes to you and points out an area of sin, or an area where we could use growth, are we thankful for that being pointed out?

I am not a perfect person. I need to work on being kind and having a kind attitude towards people who are "open" about sexual sin. Just wanted to share what I was thinking about tonight...

From what I know from scripture, I'm convinced that if we live a life of continual sin (no matter what the sin is), it doesn't get better.
PS. Here are a few more verses pertaining to sexual immorality
Leviticus 20:10
Matthew 5:32
Matthew 15:19
Matthew 19:9
Mark 7:21
John 8:41
Acts 15:20
Acts 21:25
Romans 13:3
I Corinthians 5
I Corinthians 6:9-20
I Corinthians 7:1-3
I Corinthians 10:8
I Corinthians 5:19-21
Ephesians 5:3
Colossians 3:5

It's a Good Thing...

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What comes to your mind when you hear the line "Girls in white dresses with blue satin sashes" from the song, "My Favorite Things"? One that comes to my mind is that of an image of purity. A bunch of sweet little girls wearing white dresses with blue sashes; little girls that aren't "worldly wise"; little girls that don't know much about evil but know a lot about good. What's so bad about being this pure at the age of 18, 19 or 20? Obviously, there are some things that older girls will need to know that little girls don't, but here's some food for thought:

It's a good thing when a young woman hasn't had the typical "sex education" that most have because she knows that sex is saved for the marriage bed and anything outside of that is sin.

It's a good thing when a young woman doesn't go see every blockbuster film that comes to theaters because there is content that is not pleasing to God.

It's a good thing when a young woman is willing to be unconventional in her fashion choices because modesty is more important to her than fashion.

It's a good thing when a young woman doesn't read the book that EVERYBODY is reading because she knows that there are elements of that book that aren't pleasing to God and knows that she could easily get sucked in to it's addictive pull.

It's a good thing when a young woman sacrifices her love for theater/art/music/etc. because there is no Godly outlet near her.

It's a good thing when a young woman trusts the advice of her parents and trusted adults more than the advice of her peers.

It's a good thing when a young woman doesn't know every blasphemous word out there because she hasn't exposed herself to such things.

It's a good thing when a young woman is confident enough in her God given role womanhood to be able to willingly submit to her father and in the future her husband.

It's a good thing when a young woman is friendly with the young men around her but isn't flirtatious and doesn't throw herself at them.

It's a good thing when a young woman has never kissed a man because she wants to save that special first kiss for the man she will marry.

It's a good thing when a young woman doesn't find her fulfillment in the mirror, or in a relationship, or in a job, but she finds her ultimate fulfillment in the Lord.

Sometimes it's a good thing to go against the grain.